A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Schuylkill County man who was allegedly found with illicit images of children he obtained during a vigilante sting.
John Hinchcliff, 61, of Friedensburg, is charged with four felony counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.
Last December, State Police say they responded to Hinchcliff’s residence at Frieden Manor, Wayne Township, after learning of a vigilante predator sting. Police do not identify the name of the vigilante in their affidavit.
When police arrived at his home, Hinchcliff reportedly admitted to police that he had illicit images of children on his phone.
At the State Police-Schuylkill Haven barracks, Hinchcliff allegedly repeated that admission and provided his phone to authorities for them to view.
Police say they viewed messages from Hinchcliff in which he requests receiving these images, namely photos of girls between the ages of 11 and 13. Other messages reportedly show Hinchcliff chatting in an explicit way with a person he thought was a girl between 11-13.
Hinchcliff reportedly used Facebook Messenger, Zangi, and Native Messages to send these illicit texts and receive the files.
Police say Hinchcliff chatted with two people he thought were underage girls on Messenger. He also solicited pictures and videos of an explicit nature on Zangi. On Native Messages, he reportedly admits to once having sex with a 13-year-old and possesses videos of people having sex with dogs.
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